What matters right now in business. From WSJ reporters around the world.

All posts tagged mining

Glencore PLC announced its full-year results on Tuesday. The big news was that the world’s third-largest diversified miner is continuing to surprise with returns to shareholders despite a challenging commodity-price environment and significant write-downs. Here are the big things to know. Read More »

Glencore PLC, the Swiss-based mining and commodities-trading group, is slated to report 2014 earnings early on Tuesday, giving investors another snapshot of how the industry is getting to grips with the sharp downturn in commodity prices. Read More »

ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steel maker by output, bore the brunt of crumbling iron ore prices last year but rebounding demand for steel suggests that it might spill less red ink this year. Read More »

A new World Bank report says mining companies have an opportunity to help turbocharge economic growth in Africa, while polishing their image in the mix.

They can do so by becoming “anchor customers” of electricity utilities in Africa, providing needed funds for cash-strapped power plants to expand and provide energy to local populations. The report argued that miners, which often generate their own electricity rather than buying it from a public utility, could save hundreds of millions in costs by doing so, while at the same time helping to bring energy to impoverished African nations.

Just how strong does BHP Billiton’s balance sheet need to be? According to the company, it’s not yet robust enough for it to launch a share buyback, even though investors had hoped a return of around $3 billion announced along with its full year results Tuesday. Read More »

A technical snafu delayed BHP Billiton PLC’s full-year earnings announcement on Tuesday. But investors seem to have decided the results weren’t worth waiting for. London-listed shares in the world’s largest miner by market capitalization fell 3.5%, the immediate cause of disappointment being the absence of any plan to return cash to shareholders through a share buyback. Read More »

Related News:

Cliffs Natural Resources Inc. said Friday that it expects to make a payment of about $11 million to former Chief Executive Gary Halverson in connection with the termination of his employment.

Cliffs earlier this month appointed Lourenco Goncalves as new CEO, who was backed by an activist hedge fund that won control of the board. Mr. Halverson was in the position for only six months.

Casablanca Capital LP, which owns a sizable stake in Cliffs, won six of Cliffs’s 11 board seats on July 29 and said it would support Mr. Goncalves as CEO. The fund hopes the shake-up, and Mr. Goncalves, will lead to profound changes at Cleveland-based Cliffs, which has been hurt by declining iron-ore prices. More on this after the jump… Read More »